WHS football set to play Dillon to start season

With a snowy, season-ending loss to Dillon still fresh in their minds, the Whitefish High School football team is preparing to kick off its season again versus Dillon on Friday evening.

Last year the team fell to Dillon by a matter of one score which stopped them just short of the playoffs. Whitefish head coach Chad Ross says he likes the team’s chances for another close battle this week.

“Losing the way we did to Dillon was one of the best things for the kids because now they’re like, we’re so close, what can we do…” Ross told the Pilot during a recent practice. “The energy is high from them coming into the season; and we get to open with Dillon, we get to play the team we lost to, so lets go lets see what we’ve got.”

Ross is in his 24th season with the program, over 10 of those years as the head coach. He says this year’s team has more returners coming back than any year since 2015 when the Bulldogs captured the state championship.

Whitefish had a record amount of kids come out to play football this fall with over 50 suiting up. Ross says on offense eight starters are back and nearly the same amount of starters from last year return on the defensive side. They also have good size on the line this year.

Throughout the summer Ross said there were five kids who never missed even one day of weight room training and around 25 players that hit at least 90% of summer training.

Some big name returners for Whitefish include junior quarterback Fynn Ridgeway and last year’s two leading receivers — Bodie Smith and Jaxsen Schlauch. Smith and Schlauch were both honored with all-state selections last season and between the two of them totaled 75 catches for over 1,200 yards. Ridgeway threw for over 1,600 yards and 12 passing touchdowns.

But Ross says although the talent is undeniable for those three, there are many other parts of the puzzle for success this season. He mentioned seniors Cody Berry, Tanner Harmon and Ashton Akey that are mainstays on the line who have put in a lot of hard work.

“Fynn, Bodie and Jaxsen are going to be as good as our line allows them to be; they have the talent, they have the ability, but can our line give them the time to do it?” Ross said. “That’s really what’s going to differentiate our season because we know those guys are good…”

Much of the coaching staff returns as well this season, and Ross couldn’t say enough about the work that all the coaches do for the team.

“If anything’s made this program what it is, it’s [the coaching staff] that not only believe in football but they believe that they make a difference in young men’s lives.”

After finishing 4-4 and getting off to a slow start dropping two right off the bat in 2020, Whitefish is rearing to get on the field. The Bulldogs start the season in Beaverhead County playing Dillon on Friday at 6 p.m.